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Musical Courier 1895-06-05: Vol 30 Iss 796, 1895
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1An English supplement to The Musical Courier is printed and published each week from our British office for special circulation in Great Britain. It contains complete reports of musical matters in London and the chief cities of the British Isles. Copies can be obtained upon application at the New York office.
3British Office of the Musical Courier,
415 Argyll Street, London, W., May 18, 1885
6The Strauss Orchestra gave an invitation concert in the Imperial Institute on Saturday afternoon. A brilliant audience was present, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and several other members of the royal family, and many musicians of note. An excellent performance was given, under the direction of Herr Eduard Strauss, of a varied program which appealed to those present. Their visit to London will undoubtedly be as successful as their stay here in 1885.
8The Misses Eissler, violinist and harpist, gave an orchestral concert on the same afternoon under the direction of Mr. F. H. Cowen at Queen's Hall. These young ladies are favorites of the royal family, and have accompanied Mme. Patti on several of her tours. They gave a fairly interesting program, including Sir Alexander Mackenzie's Pibroch.
10A young pianist, M. Leon Delafosse, made his début on the previous afternoon, playing two sonatas of Beethoven in a showy and unsympathetic manner, partly due to nervousness. In subsequent numbers his technic was better, and he imbued his work with more feeling. We trust that his next concert will be more successful.
12Mr. Gordon Heller, a baritone, who comes from Leeds, gave a concert at Steinway Hall on the same afternoon. He is evidently a master of singing, and his large voice was heard with distinct pleasure by an audience that filled the hall. He was assisted by Mme. Clara Samuell.
14Recitations with musical accompaniments seem to be the rage in London at present, and Mr. Richard Temple, of the Savoy and Royal Academy, gave a recital on Monday afternoon, when a poem set by Mr. Waddington was recited very successfully. Miss Sutherland sang several songs.
16Mrs. Lee, who is one of our esteemed contraltos, especially in the interpretation of French and German songs, with Miss Winifred Holliday, first violinist of Moberley's Ladies' Orchestra, gave a concert at Princes Hall on Thursday.
18Miss Louise Nannye's, the violinist, concert took place in the Queen's (small) Hall on Monday evening, when she was assisted by Miss Isabel Hirschfeld, Miss Evangeline Florence and Mr. Arthur Barlow.
20Miss Annie Burghes gave a piano recital in St. James' Hall, which certainly could not be called a success. She has still much to learn before making an essay before the public.
22The Shinner Quartet, which, by the way, is an excellent body of performers, gave an interesting concert in the Queen's (small) Hall on Tuesday.
24Mr. Charles Schilsky's first violin recital took place at Princes Hall on the same day, when he played Dvorák's violin concerto, Bach's Chaconne and other similar pieces. His bowing is free and his intonation on the whole good. He has excellent technic and sympathetic tone. He was assisted by Mr. and Mrs. Henschel and M. Jules Hollander.
26Herr Willy Burmester gave his first violin recital in St. James' Hall on the 15th inst. A large and enthusiastic audience gathered to hear the Mendelssohn Concerto, Ernst's Hungarian Airs, Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen, &c. He considerably heightened the effect made at his orchestral concert.
28In the Queen's Hall on the previous afternoon Miss Noona Macquoid held her own concert, assisted by Miss Nawrik Nillah, Miss Isabel Hirschfeld, Mr. Hayden Coffin, Mr. Leo Stern and others.
30Mr. Charles Copland, who has been playing a prominent part in Hänsel and Gretel here, gave a concert in Steinway Hall on the same afternoon, assisted by a number of well-known artists.
32The Strolling Players' fourth, and probably last, concert of the season took place on Thursday, under the conductorship of Mr. Norfolk Megone. Dvorák's Symphony in D major, the Tristan Prelude and the Dream Music from Hänsel and Gretel were the principal items. Miss Alice Liebmann, the young violinist, was encored for her solo, and Mrs. Helen Trust sang two songs by Miss Frances Allitsen, accompanied by the composer, and Miss Creta Williams also contributed.
34On the 10th inst., in the same hall, the Royal Amateur Orchestral Society, with the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, their former leader and present president in the chair, gave their last smoking concert of the season. The instrumentalists were Miss Frida Scotta and Señor Rubio, and part songs were given by the Meister Glee Singers.
36Messrs. Metzler & Co. gave a matinée at Princes Hall on Wednesday, the 8th inst., for the purpose of exploiting their Mason & Hamlin American organs and their Mustel orchestral harmoniums. We congratulate them, first on possessing two such excellent instruments, and secondly upon adopting such an agreeable mode of advertising them. Their respective merits were most ably demonstrated by Mr. J. M. Coward, whose improvisation on the Mustel organ was very interesting; nor could orchestral effects have been better imitated than in the accompaniment to the Church Scene from Faust, admirably sung by Mme. Sapio and Mr. David Bispham. Miss Fanny Davies was a worthy exponent of the piano, on which she played several selections. Altogether the concert was a success.
38At the Philharmonic concert on Thursday evening Herr Willy Burmester replaced Herr Popper, the violoncellist, who was suffering from an injury to his thumb. This gave Herr Burmester another and an unexpected opportunity of playing at an orchestral concert, and it is a great pity that he did not choose one of the works of the classical repertory, instead of the Allegro Pathétique of Ernst, a composition that could not give him an opportunity of fully ingratiating himself in the favor of the patrons of this old society. Herr Burmester seemed to be ill advised in his selections. If he were to play those recognized as the highest tests of those qualities that make a great violinist as well as virtuoso, there would then be less controversy about position among contemporary violinists. Herr Burmester made light of the many difficulties of the concerto, and the performance was a very brilliant one. For an encore he played a portion of the Nel Cor Piu, which, if we recollect rightly, Paganini arranged for violin to Bethoven's variations on an air by Paisiello, and has since been rendered even more difficult than Paganini cared to make it, by Herr Burmester himself. Dr. G. J. Bennett's overture, Leonatus and Imogen, was one of the interesting novelties of the concert, and shows good musicianship, and another interesting number was Herr Stavenhagen's piano concerto in B minor, played by the composer, who also gave an encore piece. Mme. Amy Sherwin, who was in excellent voice, sang Mozart's Idomeneo, and Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, conducted by Sir A. C. Mackenzie, completed the program.
40Mr. Virgil, of the Virgil Clavier Company, arrived in London on Thursday.
42The Carl Rosa Opera Company during the last two weeks has been having a season in Edinburgh.
44It is reported that Mr. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan will collaborate again for a new opera at the Savoy.
46The following artists have been engaged by the executive committee for the Gloucester Festival this year: Mme. Albani, Miss Anna Williams, Mme. Medora Henson and Miss Beatrice Gough (sopranos), Miss Hilda Wilson and Miss Jessie King (contraltos), Mr. Edward Lloyd and Mr. Ben Davies (tenors), Mr. Watkin-Mills, Mr. Andrew Black and Mr. David Bispham (basses). Mr. J. T. Carrodus will be the leader of the orchestra, and at the miscellaneous concert Miss Sybil Palliser will be the solo pianist.
48Among the artists so far announced as engaged for the Leeds Festival are Mme. Albani, Miss Macintyre, Miss Hilda Wilson, Mme. Marian Mackenzie, Miss Medora Henson and Miss Sarah Berry; Messrs. Lloyd, Davies, Salmon, Black, Bispham and Watkin-Mills.
50Mme. Nordica will arrive in London about June 1, and after a short stay here will go on to Bayreuth, where she will study the part of Brünnhilde with Frau Wagner. Mme. Melba has recently been studying the parts of Manon in Massenet's Manon, and Eva in Die Meistersinger. Mlle. de Lussan has arrived in London.
52The first of Professor Bridge's summer series of Gresham lectures will be on the String Quartet, the second Purcell's Te Deum, the third Samuel Pepys and Music, and the last Early Organ Music. They will be given at the City of London School between the 20th and 24th inst.
54We learn from Mr. Daniel Mayer that Mme. Melba will arrive in England on the 23d inst., and Mme. Brema is expected about the end of the month. The English contralto will be able to remain in England only until the last of June or first of July, when she leaves for Bayreuth. Negotiations are now in progress for her return to America next year. She will sing at Herr Siegfried Wagner's concert in Brussels in November next, when Mr. Plunket Greene will also take part.
56La Matire, the new opera by the Greek composer Spiro Samara, which will be given at Covent Garden next month, was published this week by Messrs. Ascherberg & Co., and undoubtedly some of the numbers will become very popular. Madame Patti will make her appearance, probably as Violetta in La Traviata, on June 11. M. Jean de Reszké will make his reappearance two days later.
58Mme. Clara Poole is now rapidly recovering from the serious illness that has obliged her to give up several professional engagements during the past two months, but she hopes to be able to resume singing in a very short time, and the London musical world will be glad to welcome her back, and I know that her American friends will be glad to hear of her recovery.
60Gounod's Commentary on Don Giovanni.
62The multitude of admirers of Mozart's immortal work will be greatly interested in the commentary written by Charles Gounod, which Messrs. Robert Cocks & Co. (London), and Edward Schubert & Co. (New York) are now issuing in a neatly bound volume, with large type, well edited. His description will interest both musicians and amateurs who wish to become familiar with the opera and to understand its inner workings. The translation from the French is by Mr. Windyer Clark and Mr. J. T. Hutchinson, who have succeeded admirably in conveying into our language the spirit of the original. Gounod took the work from the first bar and gave an analysis that is not only interesting in connection with the opera, but a source of education to all who wish to understand the motives and carrying out of the same by those who compose such grand works as this. It would be impossible in the present article to quote at length, as we should like to do, but we give a few lines from his preface to give an indication of Gounod's appreciation of Don Giovanni, and to show the spirit by which he approached his work. This commentary was written when the opera had attained its centenary, and evidently Gounod attacked his task with great enthusiasm.
64"Don Giovanni, that unequaled and immortal masterpiece, that apogee of the lyrical drama, has attained a hundred years of existence and of fame; it is popular, universally accepted and consecrated forever. Is it understood? This wondrous example of truth of expression, beauty of form, appropriateness of characterization, deep insight into the drama, purity of style, richness and restraint in the instrumentation, charm and tenderness in the love passages, loftiness and power in pathos—in one word, this finished model of dramatic music—is it admired, is it loved as it should be? I may be permitted to doubt
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